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Lindy was up next and no shrinking violet out there. She chargedhard, but it was a short in-and-out ride. Okay, okay. This was even better. Ifonly her heart would stop thudding its way out of her chest. She placed a handover it as she looked on.

“Think Britton’s gonna pull it out?” Alia Foz called to Gia from afew seats down. “She’s been looking good out there this week. I’m thinking it’shers to lose.”

“If she can stay the course, she’ll be fine. She’s a fighter.”

“Would be a shame to see her lose the title after holding it forso much of the year.”

“I don’t think that’s gonna happen.”

Elle set out on her second effort, starting with a promisingopening turn. “C’mon, c’mon,” Gia murmured. She had command of the wave, withperfect form and flow. She attacked the pocket hard, bringing Gia to her feet,then out of nowhere went down.

“Fuck,” Gia said, under her breath. “What the hell happenedthere?”

Elle emerged with a smile on her face and shake of her head at thelost opportunity. But the clock was ticking.

Lindy delivered on her next three outings, turning in three solidrides, hanging on to the corner each time in an impressive showing. She wasn’tthe most creative surfer, but she was solid. Elle didn’t fare as well. A coupleof shorter efforts, ending early, followed by a simple series of turns on asmaller swell. The waves were not on her side today, but it wasn’t over.Timewise, she would have one last shot before the heat ended. Gia swallowedback the fear and said a silent prayer. If she could nail this one, she’d havea chance. If not, the title would most assuredly go to Ives.

“Come on Elle. Wait for your wave!” she called. “You got this.”

Elle paddled out, leapt to her board, and went for it. The wavewas monstrous, and if she could capitalize, it would score huge. She swung biginto the wall and down again, pulling a big cheer from the crowd. Then the noseof her board dug in on one of the ripples, and she fell fast over the top ofthe board into the surf below. Gia blew out a defeated breath as a hush fellover the crowd. Awful. Had she just put her head down, she could have balancedherself and ridden out of it. No, no, no. This couldn’t be happening.

With the final seconds of the heat ticking away, there was nothingto do.

Lindy Ives came away with a combined two-wave score of 15.2. Ellescored a 14.5, bringing the season to a disappointing close.

“I think the world champ’s run just ended here at the Maui Pro,”she heard the announcer say over the loudspeaker. “A round of applause for yournew champion, Lindy Ives.” The crowd went wild, enjoying every second of thenail-biter they’d just experienced. People would be talking about this upsetfor a while, watching replays and analyzing every moment online.

Gia had only one thing on her mind. Elle.

She waited for her alongside the roped-off competitors’ walkway.She expected sadness, defeat, and someone who would need to be picked up offthe ground. She got none of those things.

“There you are,” Elle said to Gia as she approached, a small smileon her face.

“It was close out there, Elle. You should be proud of yourself.”

Elle nodded with a confidence that caught Gia off guard. “I am. Fora variety of reasons.” She touched Gia’s cheek briefly. “I’ve got a little bitof press to attend to, but maybe we can grab dinner? I could use a mai tai ortwo.”

“You sure you’d be up for that?”

“More than up for it.” She squeezed Gia’s hand. “I’m good. Betterthan good, actually. Just one tournament of many, right?”

Gia understood exactly what Elle meant, because in the scheme oflife? She was on top of the world herself. Together, they could handleanything. Each setback, each defeat, each injury. Anything that came their way.They shared a smile in recognition of the new frontier.

“Elle, how about a quick wrap-up interview for the doc?” Jordancalled from across the ropes.

She held on to Gia’s hand. “Can we do it together?” she asked, andtilted her head toward Gia.

“Even better,” Jordan said with a grin. Once Jordan had themsituated in a two-shot with the beach behind them, she fired off her firstquestion. “Elle, I’m sure the loss of the title today was a hard one. Can youtalk about how you’re feeling?”

Elle nodded and gathered her thoughts. “I’m disappointed to notend the season as world champion. It’s not what I expected, and certainly notwhat I planned on. But I know I gave it everything I had, and I’ll come backnext season ready to do it all over again.”

“It’s been a long journey,” Jordan said. “Lot of ups and downs foryou, Elle. Looking back, was it all worth it?”

This time Elle didn’t hesitate. “One hundred percent. I met themost wonderful woman, and fell head over heels in love. Did I mention that? Imean, did you guys know?” She laughed, looked over at Gia and then straightinto the lens. She paused. Sincerity took over. “It’s been the most satisfyingyear of my life, and I wouldn’t change a second.”

Standing next to Elle, who, after a devastating loss, was morefocused on whattheyhad together, had Gia feeling like the luckiest woman on the planet. Shecouldn’t wipe the grin off her face if you offered her a million dollars.

“What about you, Gia? You’re ending the season as number four insteadof battling it out for one. Any final thoughts?”